OTT or Over-the-top streaming content like Netflix and Hotstar is quite the buzzword these days. But the popularity of the many streaming services vary across age, sex and location, according to a just-released consumer survey.
As per the OTT video content market consumer survey conducted around the world, and in India, by leading consultancy firm Counterpoint Research, 89 per cent of users in India are under 35 years of age. But the preference for various providers vary dramatically across Indian cities and across age groups.
To start with, OTT viewing is still a predominantly urban phenomenon. About 55 per cent of OTT users come from the five metro cities, with Tier-1 cities accounting for another 36 per cent. Disney-owned Hotstar, with its mix of programme from various channels of the Star bouquet (as well as some others like Republic and Asianet) is the market leader. From Game of Thrones to IPL to the ongoing Cricket World Cup, Hotstar has managed to keep the crowds firmly tuned in. The platform, with more than half its viewers in metro cities, also has the highest penetration of non-paying users (since it has a huge amount of free content, too).
At second position is Amazon Prime Video, followed by SonyLIV and Netflix. Despite almost becoming a generic name to signify this category globally, American major Netflix is only at the fourth spot in India. Voot (from Viacom 18), Zee5, ALTBalaji and ErosNow make up the rear among the major pan-Indian players.
The behaviour pattern of OTT users in India, as revealed by this survey, is pretty intriguing. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the global players present in India, were found to be primarily popular in metro cities (except Kolkata, where ALTBalaji is highly popular). In fact, the top five metros account for more than 65 per cent users of Amazon and Netflix.
While SonyLIV was the topper when it came to Tier-1 cities, ErosNow has the largest share (59 per cent) of its users in the 25-39 age bracket in Tier II/III cities. Voot has the highest penetration of female users.
The survey also looked at the modes of consumption of OTT among Indians, ranging from devices to the telecom operator. ErosNow had the maximum viewers on Smart TV, while most other services were more consumed on mobile devices than anywhere else. As per the survey, Xiaomi is the most popular smartphone among OTT users, while Jio topped the list of mobile networks used by OTT viewers in India, followed by Airtel and Vodafone-Idea.
“The low cost of mobile data and affordable smartphones have revolutionised overall video content consumption in India,” comments Counterpoint Research's senior analyst Hanish Bhatia. “New players continue to enter the market as it is expected to record double-digit growth from subscription revenues during the next five years.”
